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Afghan refugees stranded in freezing Serbian conditions

Afghan refugees fleeing their war-torn country wait in makeshift tents as they look for chance to cross into EU.

Mon Feb 09 2015 09:14:31 GMT+0000

Afghan refugees emerge from a tent at their temporary shelter in the region of Subotica, on the Serbian-Hungarian border.

Escaping continuing violence, many Afghans have fled their war-torn country looking for a better life in the EU.

Hundreds of refugees have ended up in the town of Subotica, northern Serbia, as they wait for human traffickers to smuggle them across the border into Hungary, an EU member state.

Once over the border, the refugees will have entered the Schengen zone, which allows EU citizens to cross into member countries without border checks - making the onward journey of the migrants much easier.

On a daily basis, dozens of would-be immigrants are caught by border police and a voluntary organisation of civil guards in a narrow border region south of Szeged, 170km south of Budapest, the Hungarian capital.

With temperatures dropping to -20 degrees celcius during the winter, circumstances are becoming dire for the migrants as they wait in their makeshift tents and temporary shelters to cross the border.

Reverend Tibor Varga of the Hungarian-based charity organisation East European Mission distributes clothes to Afghan refugees at the temporary shelter of a group of Afghan migrants in the town of Subotica.

Afghan refugees extinguish fire in an abandoned farm building at their temporary shelter.

Refugees bring food for their friends and family at their temporary shelter in the town of Subotica.

An Afghan man pulls water from a well next to an abandoned farm building at the temporary shelter of a group of Afghan refugees.

An Afghan refugee holds a baby as he sits in a tent at the temporary shelter.

Afghan refugees sit in a tent at their shelter in northern Serbia, near the Hungarian border.

Afghan refugees eat near their temporary shelter. Most hope for a better life in the EU.

An Afghan woman stands next to abandoned farm buildings as she waits day after day to cross into Hungary. Temperatures can drop to -20C in the winter.